Review: Hers to Choose by Patricia A. Knight

Reviewed by Shelly

It took me a while to read the follow up to Hers to Command, not for any other reason than time. This was worth the wait. If you haven’t read the first story, this one will leave you in a quandary about some things. I would suggest reading these in order. In the first story, the explanations for the rituals and the planet as sentient being makes this second book an easier read. Hers to Choose picks up four years after we last read about Fleur, Ari and Doral. The Queen’s consort, Doral, has rescued his sister, Sophi from the evil Haarb. To help with the recovery of her enslavement, Sophi has been living with a surrogate family far away from the demands and people of the Court.

The people of Verdantia need help and they need it now. In answer to his people’s needs Doral sends his Commander, Eric Destroia, to fetch his sister and return her to the palace with the hope that she’s ready to take her place in the sexual rites that would return the comforts that their people lost during the wars with the Haarb.

I was on board within the first chapter of this story. After Eric gets to Sophi, he isn’t sure what he’s getting into because he knows enough of her history to know that she might be pretty, perfect, protected and even sexually repressed. He doesn’t get what he’s expecting. What he gets is a desert warrior who’s a protector. In their first meeting, she’s decked out in her desert clothes and all he sees are those brilliant blue eyes of hers; everything else was covered. She was straight Ninja and I absolutely loved her. I don’t throw that ‘l’ word around when it comes to a character but there was just something about Sophi that I was constantly fist pumping. To my point, Eric is telling Sophi how he’s going to protect her on the return trip to her brother and she’s looking at him like he’s an idiot, then explains to him that she’s a Flight Leader with her own troop of specially trained warriors and she not looking for his protection. Instead, ‘we will be here but you will not see us’. That’s when she got me.

The dynamic between these two was superb. The buildup was nice and there’s nothing better than when Sophi told Eric to make her willing… ahhh – talk about scrum delicious. One of the things that I really appreciated was that Sophi didn’t immediately jump in the sack with Eric, and Eric didn’t immediately try to jump Sophi. There’s nothing that will ruin a good story more than having a rape victim who’s still in recovery jump out of recovery because the story is lacking and sex is the filler – that’s definitely not the case here.

Unlike the first story that has some action, this one is full of action. I just couldn’t stop reading. On the way to her brother, Sophi, Eric and their warriors come across the Haarb and there are fight scenes after fight scenes that just keep coming. I think you get the idea that Sophi is no whimpering heroine and a lot of the action had to do with the Haarb trying to get her back. She’s not willing to return to that without a fight, so she gets to mix up with some bad guys, a lot.

Before I go on about how awesome Eric is, I have to mention something. The story is not written in first person but there are some moments were the reader does get some first person thoughts from Sophi and Eric. I have to tell you that because it kind of threw me off initially but after the first couple of times it happened, I’d already gotten used to it. Now back to Eric. He is all kind of yumminess. Rugged and battle scarred, he initially didn’t seem to be the ideal man for Sophi, but my mind quickly changed. Their tete-a-tetes were fun, easy and sexy. Well done! Eric proved himself to be a very strong hero indeed. Big smile.

One of the perks of series is that you get to visit the characters from the previous stories and this was no different. Doral, Ari and Fleur are still happily married; there’re even additions to their family. The royal guards are back with more personality than ever. I’m really looking forward to the third book which has one of the kidnappers from this story and his redemption.